Children’s Organ Transplant Association®
Webmaster Manual
2501 West COTA Drive Bloomington, Indiana 47403 Phone: 800.366.2682 Fax: 812.336.8885 Web Address: www.cota.org Email Address: [email protected]
March 2014
Campaign Website Overview Home Page Information Page 4 Donation Options Page 4 Blogs Page 5 How You Can Help Page 5 Guestbook Page 5 Photo Album Page 5 Campaign Website Information Page 6
Login Accounts and Permissions Webmaster and Family Accounts page 7 Creating Accounts page 7 Permission Levels page 8 Authenticated Users and Subscriptions page 8
Editing Your Campaign Website Quick Start Guide Page 9 Editing Content Page 10 Using Tables Page 11 Inserting Images and Photos Page 12 Creating Books and Pages Page 16 Blog Entries Page 19 Adding Photo Albums Page 20 Adding Pictures to Albums Page 20 Video Options Page 21 Monitoring the Guestbook Page 22 Webmaster Help Page 22
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Website Guidelines
Guidelines Page 23 COTA Web Services Page 23 COTA Campaign Website Timeline Page 23 If the Campaign or Family Has a Website Page 24 COTA Campaign Website Content Review Page 24 Use of the COTA Campaign Website for Sales Page 24 Links Page 25 Third Party Websites Page 25 Use of Social Networking Sites Page 26 Other COTA Campaign Website Information Page 26 COTA Patient Donation Page Information Page 26 For More Information Page 26 Email and Campaign Website Solicitation Guideline Page 28
DISCLAIMER
This manual may be modified by the Children’s Organ Transplant Association at any time necessary for the purpose of complying with any past, present or future Internal Revenue Service rule, regulation or court decision in order to ensure continued status as a 501(c)3 corporation.
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The Campaign Website is divided into seven main sections: Home, Blogs, How You Can Help, Guestbook, Photo Album, Activities and Events, and Media Coverage.
Home Page Information Clicking on the Home button takes you to the opening page of the Campaign Website. The header remains the same for every page and contains the name of the patient and links back to the Home Page and to the Donation Options page. The left hand column has a navigation menu, user login area, search box, Matching Gifts and Donate Now buttons.
The navigation menu has four main links for all visitors: Blogs, How You Can Help, Guestbook and Photo Album.
The user login area allows new visitors to create an account or previous users to login. Users may also request a new password if they forget theirs.
The search box will search only the patient’s site for any text entered in box. It only displays on the Home page.
At the bottom of the left hand column there are two large buttons that link to a search for employers that will match gifts and to the patient’s online donation page.
Donation Options This link in the header will take the user to a page outlining the various ways that visitors may donate to the community fundraising campaign.
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Blogs The first item on the menu, Blogs, links to the collection of blogs that will be listed in reverse chronological order – newest at the top. Recent blog posts will be listed as titles only at the bottom of the main Blogs page. Patients or their parents are encouraged to have their own login account so that they can create their own blogs.
How You Can Help Work with your Community Coordinator to keep this section as up to date as possible.
Guestbook Visitors can post a short message in the site’s guestbook. The Webmaster and family members can respond with comments and delete messages if necessary.
Photo Album Multiple photo albums can be created and displayed in this section. Click on the main picture of an album to open the album. Click on the title of any picture to see the photo displayed individually and to get a full size image and a description.
Activities and Events This is where you will post the information about upcoming events. Many campaigns use the ‘child page’ structure to list past events with the fundraising results and thank you notes for supporters and volunteers.
Media Coverage COTA will post the initial media alert here as a child page for media outlets to access the information. You can also use this area to post links to other newspaper, television, and radio coverage of the campaign.
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Your Campaign Website Information
URL______
Username ______
Password______
Campaign Email______
Additional Users
Name: ______Name: ______
Username: ______Username: ______
Password: ______Password: ______
Email: ______Email: ______
Name: ______Name: ______
Username: ______Username: ______
Password: ______Password: ______
Email: ______Email: ______
Name: ______Name: ______
Username: ______Username: ______
Password: ______Password: ______
Email: ______Email: ______
Name: ______Name: ______
Username: ______Username: ______
Password: ______Password: ______
Email: ______Email: ______
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Webmaster and Family Accounts The COTA Web Specialist will assign login accounts to the volunteer webmasters, parents and patients. They will be granted special permissions to create new pages and edit the website. A unique email address is required for each login account. The login name will automatically be used to identify personal blogs. For example, a login name of Tommy will create blog entries labeled “Tommy’s blog” and a login name of tjohnsen0898 will create blog entries labeled “tjohnsen0898’s blog”. Real names are recommended and since spaces are allowed, a couple can share one login such as “Tom and Sharron”.
Creating Accounts Any visitor to the website can create their own login account without any assistance from you or COTA. While it is not necessary to create an account to view material on the site, users who are logged in will find it easier to post comments in the Guestbook and use the Send a Page feature.
To prevent malicious or automated account creations, COTA uses both a CAPTCHA challenge question and an email response authentication process to verify legitimate users.
Users who create their own account will receive an email with instructions on completing the process. Once an account is created, uses will automatically be subscribed to email updates on new blog entries. While logged in, they will not be presented a CAPTCHA challenge when posting Guestbook entries or sending a page to a friend.
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Permission Levels Anonymous users can view all content on the site. They may post Guestbook entries and send pages to a friend only after answering a CAPTCHA question. They do not receive automatic blog updates.
Authenticated users, those who successfully create a login account, will receive automatic updates to blogs and may post Guestbook entries and send pages to a friend with a CAPTCHA challenge.
COTA patients and parents, in addition to the above privileges, may also create photo albums, upload photos, create and edit their own blog, delete Guestbook entries or add comments to existing entries. They also have access to the online Webmaster help files.
COTA volunteer webmasters are granted additional permissions to create or edit books and pages.
Authenticated Users and Subscriptions Visitors who create their own accounts and authenticate themselves are automatically subscribed to blog updates. They may manage their own subscriptions in the My Account section.
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Quick Start Guide Get the Campaign Website started fast with these steps:
1. Add a photo album. Typically a photo of the patient has already been submitted to COTA. The COTA staff has created a starting album and uploaded the same photo used on the online donation page. If a photo has not been submitted to COTA, then you will want to add the first album. Go to page 20.
2. Upload photos into the album. You will want at least one photo that you can use on the home page. First upload it to a photo album. Go to page 20.
3. Update the Home page. Try to obtain some compelling information about the patient from the family or other campaign volunteers to add to the home page information. The Editing Content section begins on page 10. For instructions on adding photos to the home page see page 12.
4. Copy content from a former site. During the time that COTA provides the Campaign Website, COTA volunteers and patients may not maintain any other website that mentions COTA, the campaign, fundraising or anything else regarding the campaign. If a previous website exists, you may want to copy any journal entries from that website over to the COTA Campaign Website. What works best is to copy existing journal entries into one single file on your computer and then create a new blog entry and paste in the entire file. This beginning blog entry will inform new supporters of the COTA campaign about the complete patient story.
5. Parents and Patient login accounts. Parents and/or patients old enough to write blogs may want to get started right away. COTA can create the account for them or grant them permissions to start blogging. Just let COTA know and we can set up the account.
6. Custom pages and menu links. You can create your own new pages for Activities and Events or Media Coverage or start with ones that COTA has pre- formatted for you. They can be viewed at typing /node/315 and /node/338 after the ‘.com’ in the website address. COTA will be happy to create the menu links for you after you create/edit the pages. Just contact [email protected]. Instructions for creating new pages begin on page 16.
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Editing Content The pages that can be edited are the Home page, How You Can Help page, Activities and Events, and Media Coverage. You will also be able to edit any new page or blog that you create (see Creating Books and Pages).
1. After logging in, navigate to the page you wish to edit. At the top of the page, there are five tabs: View, Edit, Outline, Revisions, and Track. Click Edit.
2. You may change the title of the page. To keep the site as user-friendly as possible, keep the patient’s name in the title of the Home Page. For example, you could change About “Patient Name” to COTA for “Patient Name” or A Ray of Hope for “Patient Name”.
3. Using the Body box, you can edit the text.
4. Above the text editing area, there are buttons to aid you in formatting your page. Highlight the text you wish to format, then click the appropriate button.
5. Click Preview to see how the changes to the page will look or click Save to save changes when you are finished.
6. Experienced web programmers can also use the Source button to directly edit in HTML code.
7. TIP: When pasting text from other sources like Word or other web pages, it is best to use the ‘Paste as plain text’ tool from the toolbar. This will strip any additional formatting from other programs that can cause unpredictable results on a web page. In the long run, it is easier to paste plain and add web font formatting afterwards.
8. For lengthy entries, such as blogs, the website will display only the beginning portion as a “teaser”. In the toolbar, there is a teaser tool you can use to adjust the break to happen where you want instead of in mid-sentence. Place the cursor where you want to break the content and then click the teaser tool icon.
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Using Tables Tables can be inserted into most any page. They are useful for highlighting blocks of text, adding color to your page, or solving alignment problems with text or graphics.
1. With your cursor place where you want a table, click the Insert Table editing icon.
2. A dialog box appears that allows you to assign the number of rows and columns, cell spacing and padding, alignment, border width, table width and height.
3. Only row and column settings are required. Cell padding is recommended to the elements in the table from being up against the edges. Usually a number between three and 10 works well.
4. Table alignment can be set to Left, Right or Center. This setting can solve problems with getting certain blocks of text or graphics to stay where you want them on the page.
5. Border width can be left blank to make your table edges invisible or you can set a small number to define the cells or add depth to a 1 row x 1 column table.
6. You may want to leave the width and height blank at first and let the content of the table set the size. Another good option is to set the width to 100%. This will extend across the entire white content portion of the page.
7. When done setting up the table, click on the OK button. A blank table will appear on the editing page.
8. Fill in the cell(s) with your content.
9. You may adjust your table settings by clicking on the edge of your table to select the entire table and then click on the Insert Table icon. Change your settings and click OK.
10. To add a color background, switch to the source code view by click on the Source button. Find the HTML code for your table and insert the Style code inside the table tag. This example makes the table background COTA Yellow:
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Input Formats
When you expand the Input Format section of the page, you will see options for Filtered HTML, Full HTML or Stripped. You will have the most flexibility using full HTML and it is recommended that you keep this option. The other options will strip certain HTML codes from the content.
Inserting Images and Photos You can add an image or photo to a page any of three ways.
1. If you already have pictures in the Photo Album, you can use the Insert Picture icon in the editing tools to insert a photo using the URL web address of the photo.
Using the Insert Picture icon Using an image from the Photo Album or to quickly upload a new one.
Place the cursor on the page where you want to insert a photo and click the icon. When the dialog box opens, click Browse Server to view files or to upload a new file.
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If photos exist already, you will see them listed or you can click the Upload button to see files on your local computer. Select a photo file and click Open in the browse dialog box and then click Insert File.
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Make any adjustments you need for size, Alternative Text, spacing and alignment.
Complete the rest of the entry and click OK.
Book Outline You can change the placement of this page by inserting in an existing book or creating a new book. This is explained in greater detail under Creating Books and Pages.
Revision Information You may create a new Revision point with an explanation. This is primarily used for team editing but you may also use it as a point to go back to. A Revisions tab will be created for this page and will list the different revisions and dates from which to choose.
Comment Settings It is best to leave this option disabled for normal web pages. The default for blog pages is turned on.
File Attachments You can upload files such as video files, PDF and Power Point presentations that do not display well on their own inside of a web page. Visitors will be able to download them directly to their own computer.
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Authoring Information Expanding this section will allow you to change the date and time of the entry. This is useful when transferring blogs from other websites. You may also change the name of the author but it must be a valid username of another user on the site who has permissions to create blogs and pages.
Publishing Options
* If you will be making a number of edits to a page, we recommend you uncheck the Send Subscription notifications until you are satisfied with the page. If this option is left checked, anyone with an account will receive an ‘unappreciated update’ in their email every time you click Save. When you are completely done making changes, go back to Edit one more time and check this option back on.
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Creating Books and Pages To create a new page, select Create content from the menu, then select Book page or Page.
A Book page is a page of content, organized into a collection of related entries such as “Activities and Fundraising Events” collectively known as a book. A Book page automatically displays links to adjacent pages (child pages), providing a simple navigation system for organizing and reviewing structured content.
Selecting page, is a simple method for creating and displaying information that rarely changes, such as an "About us" section of a website. A page not initially created as part of a book may be reassigned to a Book outline at a later time.
When you expand the book outline section of the editing screen, you can select an existing book to insert the page, or create a new book page. If you select , the title of the page will become the book title when the page is saved. You may change the position of the page within the book by changing the weight factor from -15 to 15.
Saving Pages *Very Important* Immediately after saving a page, make a written note of the URL of the page (Example: cotaforpatientname.com/node/51). You will need this URL to make links or references to this page later. For instance, if you are making a new page about an activity and you want to put a link for it on the home page, you will need to know the URL to make the link or to get back to it to edit the page.
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Give the page a title and use the editing and graphic tools to design the page. To make this the main page top page of the book, choose under Book outline.
Click Save at the bottom. Note the URL node number after saving.
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You may now add child pages to this page simply by clicking on Add child page and using the normal editing functions.
As you add child pages, they will be listed on the main book page as links to the details of each child page. To change the order of your listing, edit the page you want to move, expand the Book Outline section and adjust the weight to move it up or down in the list.
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Blog Entries To create a new blog, select Create Content from the menu, then select Blog entry. You may also select Blogs on the menu and then select My Blog and then Post New Blog entry. The same editing tools are available as other pages.
To edit a blog entry, navigate to it and click the Edit tab. You can only edit your own entries.
Blog entries will be listed in chronological order at the bottom of the page under Recent Blog Posts. Your name, the date and the time are automatically added to each entry.
Blogs are the tool you or the family will use to update people about the personal aspects of the transplant journey. Making frequent entries into the site Blog is a great way to tell friends and family about what is happening. The Blog is also a way to compel potential volunteers and donors to help the campaign and to make a donation. You will see that site visitors will return to the site over and over to read your blog updates. Additionally, many of these visitors will send messages to you through the Guestbook on the site. You and the family members have the ability to respond to these messages.
Comments Authenticated users can post comments after each blog. At the request of the patient, parents or webmaster, comments can first sent to an Approval Queue where the author of the original blog or the Webmaster may delete or publish the comments. From the menu, select Administer, then Content Management, then Comments.
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Adding Photo Albums (Galleries) Using different albums are a good way to organize photos in categories to make it easy for visitors to navigate around and find the photos they want to see. If you only have a few pictures, you do need to add one gallery.
1. To add an album, select Administer from the menu, then Content management and then Photo Albums.
2. Click on the Add gallery tab.
3. Name the album by typing in a Title. The description is optional.
4. Select the or any other existing album as the parent.
5. Choose your position in the Parent Album with the Weight drop down list.
6. Click Submit.
Adding Pictures to Albums 1. Select Create Content from the menu and then select Image.
2. Choose an existing Album from the drop down list of Image Galleries.
3. Click on the Select Images icon.
4. An open file dialog box will open and you can choose multiple image files by holding down the Ctrl key as you click on files. When you have selected all files from a folder, click Open.
5. Click the Save button and the files will be uploaded from your computer to the Photo Album.
6. After they are uploaded, click the Next Step button to go to the editing page. Here you can change the titles of each picture and add longer descriptions as an option. When done, click the Done Editing button at the bottom of the screen.
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Sort Order of Photos Photos within an album are sorted alphabetically by the image title or caption. You may force the order to your own liking by adding numbers at the beginning of each title. Example: 01-Amy newborn, 02–Amy with Mommy, 03–Amy at home, etc.
Video Options You can easily embed videos hosted on other popular websites. In the editing screen for blogs and pages just enter your link in this format: [video:http://your.videosource.com/your videocode].
A real life example would be: [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCom7o0YXYk]
The following services may be used:
YouTube accepts URLs like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN1qUeId
Google Video accepts URLs like http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9036065053199156338&ei=WiLZSKK_NYv w-QGQz6G4Ag&hl=en
GodTube accepts URLs like http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=4bc3094e03bdf1737fb5
DailyMotion accepts URLs like http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/organ%2Btransplant/video/x6mzh8_donat e-life_news
Jumpcut accepts URLs like http://jumpcut.com/view?id=31410FA4169E11DDB25E000423CF385C
Revver accepts URLs like http://revver.com/video/751916/kidneys-for-sale/
Vimeo accepts URLs like http://www.vimeo.com/699122
You may also upload video files as an attachment. See File Attachments on page 14. This will not embed them into the page but allow visitors to click on the link to view or download them. To upload them to the COTA server, you will need to browse for them on your local computer.
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Monitoring the Guestbook Spam: To post irrelevant or inappropriate messages to one or more Usenet newsgroups, mailing lists, or other messaging system in deliberate or accidental violation of netiquette.
Anyone can post to the Guestbook, which unfortunately means that spammers may attempt to post to your guestbook as well. We have implemented many layers of protection and filters that make it difficult for spammers to post, but there is a possibility that some unsavory or meaningless messages may make it through.
To help COTA in our efforts to further reduce spam, you may copy the entire entry including the name, date, and message and paste it into an email and send it to [email protected].
Unwanted guestbook entries can easily be deleted. Click the Delete entry link in the bottom left hand corner of the post.
Webmasters and family members may also add comments as a response to Guestbook Entries while they are logged in. Their name will show as the one making the comment so this is usually left to family members.
Webmaster Help Webmasters and family members can access online help for specific editing functions by clicking on Webmaster Help in the main menu. An updated version of this manual will also be available by clicking on Website Manual.
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Website Guidelines
The Children’s Organ Transplant Association requires COTA community fundraising campaigns to utilize only the campaign website provided by COTA. This site supports the activities of the community fundraising campaign and informs campaign volunteers and the public about the patient and their situation. COTA campaign website services include: • Secure Donations - Contributors can feel confident using COTA’s secure donation tool. Contributions can be made using VISA, MasterCard, American Express or Discover. Online contributions are acknowledged and are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. • Reciprocal Links - COTA will do a reciprocal link from the COTA website to each COTA campaign website so anyone accessing either site can seamlessly access the other site. This is especially important as you will want to have a way for people to make online contributions, which they can do through the COTA website. There is no fee for this service and all contributions made to campaigns through the COTA website will be available for transplant-related expenses. • Ongoing Webmaster Support – COTA will provide ongoing support and resources for every COTA Campaign website and Campaign Webmaster. • Website Content Review - COTA periodically reviews the content of all sites to ensure that messages are consistent with COTA guidelines. COTA contacts Campaign Webmasters (and, if necessary, the Community Coordinator) to discuss any modifications.
COTA Web Services Campaigns must have a Campaign Webmaster to utilize the full COTA campaign website. An ideal candidate would be an individual with some familiarity and experience in template-style websites, such as WordPress, Blogger and Facebook. When a Campaign Webmaster has been recruited and the lead campaign volunteers have completed the training process: • The COTA campaign website will be made available with all current website features. • COTA will provide training and a manual for the Campaign Webmaster. • COTA will work with the Campaign Webmaster throughout the campaign. • The campaign website will be available for a minimum of one year at no charge. On an annual basis, COTA, together with the campaign and the family, can decide if the website needs to be renewed for an additional year. • COTA retains full oversight and editorial control of all COTA campaign websites.
COTA Campaign Website Timeline • COTA provides a COTA campaign website at no cost for up to one year after the training date. • After the first year, COTA staff and the patient family may decide to continue the website. The COTA campaign website may remain active for an additional year based on the status of the patient and fundraising. • If a patient passes away while an active COTA campaign website is in use, the website is available for three months. A PDF version may be provided by COTA. • The family and Webmaster are notified when the site is nearing expiration. At the family’s request, a PDF copy of the website may be made available.
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If the Campaign or Patient/Family Already Has a Website COTA patients and/or immediate family may not maintain any other website during the active fundraising campaign. If the family or campaign has a website, the Campaign Webmaster and/or family must contact COTA with the following information: • The address of the site. • The name, address, phone number and email of the webmaster. • The date the site was (or will be) deactivated (must be within two weeks of the training meeting). If the site is not deactivated, a posting must be made linking to the COTA campaign website, with a note stating all transplant-related information will be found on the COTA website. • A previously-used domain name may be redirected to the COTA campaign website. This option is only available if the previous site was active and has been disabled. • The COTA URL (typically www.COTAforFirstNameLastInitial.com) must be used on all community campaign materials.
COTA Campaign Website Content Review COTA will periodically review the content of the site to ensure that messages are consistent with COTA’s guidelines. COTA will contact your Webmaster to discuss any modifications. • Campaign Webmaster Responsibility Regular updates to the campaign website, including adding event/activity dates, times and locations; soliciting gifts and volunteers; and encouraging the use of the site by the family and volunteers. Regular audits of the campaign website to ensure appropriate and accurate information in all parts of the site. • COTA Webmaster Responsibility and Authority Regular audit of the campaign website for inconsistent, inaccurate or incomplete information and for spam. Notification to Campaign Webmaster when editorial changes need to be made by the Campaign Webmaster or have been made by COTA staff.
Use of the COTA Campaign Website for Sales of Merchandise and/or Tickets • Campaigns may not use the COTA campaign website to sell merchandise due to tax-related issues and interstate commerce issues. • Campaigns may be able to sell tickets to activities using the COTA campaign website, but only with COTA knowledge, approval and assistance. • Campaigns may not have a PayPal account linked to the community fundraising campaign, as this requires a bank account and no other bank accounts are allowed during the COTA campaign.
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Links Links allowed on the COTA campaign website include: • Links to newspaper, television and radio coverage of campaign activities. • Links to third-party sites. See policy below for details. • Link to the hospital where the patient will be/has been transplanted. • Link to one medical website for more information about the patient’s condition. Links to other groups not allowed on the COTA campaign website include: • Links to businesses, churches, community groups, etc. • Activity sponsor listings can be posted on the COTA campaign website, as well as photos of gift presentations, but no link should be provided to sponsors, etc. Links from other websites to the COTA campaign website are allowed. • Other organizations are allowed to establish a link to the COTA campaign website. Churches, businesses, workplaces, clubs and organizations may direct their members and employees to the COTA campaign website.
Third-Party Websites A community campaign may have an individual or group, but not the campaign, operate and maintain a separate website solely for the purpose of selling merchandise or tickets (but not for any gaming activity including raffles) or for activity participant registration. (This policy is subject to change, if necessary, based on legal issues.) • Definition of Third-Party Activity An activity planned and implemented by another party where COTA’s involvement in the activity is limited to accepting proceeds from the activity. COTA and COTA volunteers are not involved in the planning, implementation or promotion of the activity. COTA cannot accept or acknowledge any contributions made for or to support the activity. • Mention of COTA A third-party website may mention COTA only as the beneficiary of the proceeds of the activity. Please see Page 33 of this manual for more details on third-party events. • Proceeds from Third-Party Activities Proceeds are donated to COTA through a check, money order or credit card that comes directly from the third party event sponsor/organizer. The proceeds must include the campaign name (on the memo space on the check, for example) so the funds can be allocated appropriately. • Links between the Third Party Website and the COTA campaign website A link from the COTA site to the third party site is allowed. This link must be located under the Activities Tab of the COTA campaign website. • Other Information COTA is under very precise and strict federal and state statutes concerning fundraising and how description of activities are worded and presented to the public. COTA and the Community Coordinator must be aware of all fundraising activities. COTA reserves the right to review all Third-Party Websites and, on a case by case basis, to ask for modifications and/or to disable the link. Community campaigns will be notified should action be taken, but COTA reserves the right to disable any link in question at any time.
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Other COTA Campaign Website Information Copyrighted Materials • Professional photos, sponsor logos and other copyrighted material can be included only with permission from the original source. COTA reserves the right to remove or edit any such material. • Materials provided by COTA can be used without permission. Social Media • Social media websites are a good way to promote the community campaign website. Campaigns are encouraged to mention and provide a link to the campaign website and the Patient Donation Page. • COTA’s Social Media Guidelines may be viewed on Page 45 of this manual.
COTA Patient Donation Page • Every COTA patient receives a Donation Page from which contributors can make gifts in honor of that patient. • The Donation Page is available as long as the family is working with COTA. • Gifts can be made in honor or in memory of a patient from the COTA donation page. Contributors may always enter a patient’s name when making a gift. • The Donation Page includes a thermometer that shows current fundraising totals. This should be the primary way campaigns access current fundraising totals. • The Donation Page thermometer is updated: Immediately when an online gift is made. Daily with contribution totals
Facebook and Social Media
The world is well-connected today thanks to social media. Facebook has proven itself to be the predominate method of instantly sharing pictures, messages and other forms of communication.
If you plan to incorporate Facebook into your COTA fundraising effort, the following page has extensive information about posting. Please read through the COTA Social Media Guidelines for Community Campaigns and distribute this information to your volunteer team. It is not only important to follow COTA guidelines, but also to preserve and respect a family’s transplant journey.
Any questions you may have about social media and your COTA community campaign should be addressed to [email protected].
For More Information Contact the COTA Webmaster at 800.366.2682 or [email protected] to discuss your web needs. You may also visit www.cota.org to see what COTA has available and to check out what other COTA campaigns are doing.
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Email and Campaign Website Solicitation Guideline
To help maximize your fundraising effort, and to ensure all federal and state laws and regulations are strictly followed, COTA has established policies and guidelines regarding the use of the COTA campaign website for solicitation of contributions and for sales/promotion of merchandise.
When the COTA patient or his/her parents signed the COTA Patient Agreement, they agreed to follow all policies and guidelines. All community campaign volunteers need to abide by the agreement as well. If you have specific questions or if you need clarification, the COTA team is just a phone call or email away. The COTA staff is happy to assist you with your efforts.
COTA does not allow PayPal accounts. COTA cannot set up a PayPal account because it needs to be attached to a bank account. COTA cannot do this with the local account or with any other COTA account. If the volunteers would like to establish a PayPal account for a legitimate purpose, they can do it as a third-party activity, which means that COTA and COTA volunteers are not involved, and the community campaign does not promote or plan this as a COTA activity. It is important to note that contributors will not be acknowledged if proceeds are received through PayPal. COTA is the beneficiary of proceeds only.
COTA does not allow online sales of merchandise or other items using the COTA campaign website. The only circumstance in which COTA allows online sales using any website is if the organization providing the website is in the business of online/ecommerce, and then only if the service fees are waived or reduced. (This is a fundraising expense that must be approved using the COTA budget process). Due to sales tax issues, IRS regulations and oversight issues, COTA cannot allow COTA campaign websites to be used for merchandise sales.
COTA does allow activity registration or sale of event tickets using the COTA event pages. With COTA knowledge, approval and assistance, COTA campaign event tickets may be sold using the campaign website. Please contact [email protected] as soon as possible in your planning process to get more information about this option.
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